I am looking to feature stores/products/companies that do something “good” – maybe they contribute to a specific cause, or it is a company that does not test on animals, or it is good for the environment, or something like that. That is the goal of this – as well as entertaining you! I like to be entertained too so I will do what I can to make that happen!

Monday, January 2, 2012

The Turtle Hospital

Happy New Year! Welcome back!

Today I am going to talk about something a little different.
This isn’t going to be one of the
typical shopping sites/stores/companies. There is some shopping available, but
it isn’t its primary purpose.

A few years ago my husband and I got married in the Florida
Keys. While we were there we decided to stop at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon
Key. He likes sea turtles and we are both SCUBA divers and love the water and
MOST things in it. *I HATE jellyfish…I don’t care if they have stingers or not.

And this brings me to a pretty good story for you. We were
on a sunset cruise with all of our friends and family that came with us for the
wedding.

A
bunch of us decided to take the snorkeling option along with the cruise and
were heading out to check out the area. A bunch of us were in a group when all
of a sudden I saw a jellyfish. It wasn’t a HUGE one per say…and it was
whitish-clear. And I MIGHT not have seen any tentacles on it either…

BUT that didn’t stop me from yelling “JELLYFISH! JELLYFISH!
JELLYFISH!” into my snorkel repeatedly and making an Olympic dash back to the
boat. (As a diver one of the first
things you are taught other than to always breathe, is to NEVER take your
snorkel or regulator out of your mouth when you are in the water.)

As
I was getting back onto the boat, the crew was waiting for me – I guess they
heard the yelling and saw the flash across the water (being me). They asked
what I saw and I told them a jellyfish. They asked what it looked like and I told
them.

At this point they tell me that the whitish-clear ones with no tentacles
don’t sting. Nice of them to tell me that then!

There is so much information on their site - be sure to
check it out! They have the stories about all of the turtles that they are
currently caring for, and you can take a virtual tour of the facility.

There are no federal agencies that rehabilitate sick or
injured sea turtles, which is pretty sad/scary considering all 7 species are
currently on the endangered species list.

“The Turtle Hospital was opened in Marathon, Florida in 1986
to meet this need. The hospital has four main goals:

·(1) Rehabilitate sick or injured sea turtles and
return them to the wild.

·(2) Educate the public through outreach
programs.

·(3) Conduct and assist with sea turtle research
in conjunction with state universities.

·(4) Work for environmental legislation to make
the coast and water safe for sea turtles.”

Many of the injured turtles can be rehabbed and released, but without
this hospital many of them would have never had a chance. There is such an
abundance of dangers to the turtles in the oceans that many of us do not think
of – fishing line, being hit by boats and their propellers, plastic rings from
soda cans, plastic bags, trash in general, and of course there are natural
issues that arise too.

*This
was one of the turtles that we saw at the hospital. He was definitely cheesing
for the camera!

How can we let these guys disappear?

“We are a completely non-profit organization, so all proceeds from your
purchase go straight to the care of our turtles. Thank you so much for your support.
Be sure to check out the hospital website for more information on the facility,
our patients, and to reserve a future visit.”

The facility used to be a hotel, has a huge saltwater pool that is
attached to the ocean, and many large individual pools (think of kiddie
swimming pools) to house the sick turtles.

There
are many different things that you buy from their store. They have t-shirts,
sweatshirts, turtle ornaments, books, jewelry, and more. You can even adopt a
turtle and they will send you information about the one you adopted.

*Turtle Hospital t-shirt

*Baby
turtle that was at the hospital. He was probably small enough to fit in one
hand. Unfortunately he was only able to
swim in circles so it wasn’t safe for him to be released into the ocean.

Please – next time you are in the Keys,
make an appointment to stop in to check out the facility.

Or if you are
interested in learning more or know someone that would appreciate a gift that
supports the turtles, check out their site.